Letters -- Published Aug. 15, 2014

It was a full-page ad by Dino Cortopassi. But someone has to pay to get the truth out there.

The message told by the ad, titled "Liar, liar, pants on fire," should have been news for years.

Douglas M. Martin

Stockton

Citizens of San Joaquin County and to our south have Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, to thank for the recently passed Veterans Affairs bill.

This bill will make the VA accountable to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for performance measures and the integrity of field operations. The leadership and involvement in this contentious bill was due to the personal input by Denham, an Air Force veteran.

Recent scandals by VA hospitals manipulating appointment schedules to make veteran wait times for care seem less than they actually were. Under this new legislation, veterans may be able to obtain care near to their homes if they live outside a 40-mile radius of the nearest VA treatment facility.

It also adds $16 billion to the VA budget for hiring more doctors and care personnel.

Stockton's long-promised veterans hospital is nowhere near any start time. Estimates are now in the next decade. Rep. Jerry McNerney's claim in his 2012 re-election was that he brought 900 jobs to the area with this hospital. The fact of the matter is Stockton was on the top 10 priority list then, and McNerney, D-Stockton, has allowed the ranking to slip to No. 19.

Why is Jerry no longer on the House Veterans Committee, one may fairly ask.

Col. (retired) Steve Spatola

Stockton

This month, our nation honors the 49th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the historic civil rights legislation crafted to protect against discrimination in voting.

Just over a year ago, key components of the Voting Rights Act were removed by a U.S. Supreme Count decision, leaving room for discrimination to gain a better foothold at the ballot box.

While many were hopeful when a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Voting Rights Amendment Act at the beginning of the year, months later, we are still waiting for Congress to finish what it started.

The Voting Rights Amendment Act is a workable, common-sense solution that would modernize the elections process and protect voting rights against discrimination.

During the congressional recess in August, voters must be loud and clear that the right to vote is fundamental to our democracy. Let's call on our members of Congress to stand up now for the right to vote for all.